The memorial service included a silver bell rung three times, symbolic of years past when ringing bells were synonymous with firefighting. Firefighters started their day by ringing a bell, testing their alarm system. At the end of a call, the bell would be rung three times to let the town know that firefighters had returned safely to their station. The ringing of the bell at the memorial service “reminds us that their tour of duty is completed and they are now at rest,” said Ventura Fire Captain David Endaya, who also offered the biographies of the county’s fallen firefighters.Ventura Fire Chief Mike Lavery, president of the Ventura County Fire Chief’s Association, noted that the first annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial service was to honor those who “made the ultimate sacrifice to the citizens of Ventura County. We’re here to honor six firefighters... sons, some fathers and husbands, but all heroes.”The ladders of two fire engines were used to fly a huge American flag near the ceremony that included remarks by Supervisor Kathy Long, who noted that she is “humbled” by the “courage, commitment and bravery” of fallen firefighters. The families of firefighters should also not be forgotten, as they “deserve our respect and understanding.... Their loved one gave the ultimate sacrifice and will not be forgotten,” Long added.Former Rotary District 5240 Governor Marc Vertin has been dedicated to creating the memorial, and he said that about $10,000 has been raised so far, with other funds pledged. The memorial, a statute of an upward-gazing firefighter holding a child, will cost up to $230,000, Vertin added.Firefighters and chiefs are working together to “fulfill this mission” to create the memorial, said Ventura County Professional Firefighters Association President Chris Mahon.Santa Paula Fire Chief Paul Skeels noted that the department can “help publicize the creation of the memorial locally,” and assist the community in the fundraising effort. “I just hope there’s never an occasion that we put one of our firefighters on the memorial.”
First annual VC Fallen Firefighters’ Memorial Service honors six heroes
October 26, 2005
Santa Paula News
From the action photograph set above a bouquet of flowers, it was easy to see that Nicolas “Nick” McCarthy was a proud firefighter, a job he held until pancreatic cancer ended his career and his life.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesFrom the action photograph set above a bouquet of flowers, it was easy to see that Nicolas “Nick” McCarthy was a proud firefighter, a job he held until pancreatic cancer ended his career and his life. McCarthy was among six fallen firefighters honored for the first time on October 12 at the Ventura County Government Center.The site of the memorial service is the future home of a statute honoring fallen firefighters. The first memorial service drew firefighters from throughout Ventura County, as well as those who lost their firefighter loved ones.Nick’s cancer was a byproduct of a career spent fighting fires and responding to incidents that often included hazardous materials. Judy McCarthy of Santa Paula said her husband’s best friend and fellow Ventura City Firefighter Greg Andrews, who had joined the department at the same time, also is gone, a victim of throat cancer, dying two years before Nick. The photo used for the memorial was “Nick’s favorite... a photo showing him fighting a fire,” said Judy.A firefighter since 1983, Nick was very active with the department’s youth programs and was in charge of the station’s 1919 engine. Each Christmas season, Nick relished being at the wheel of the antique engine with passenger Santa Claus, their visits delighting area children. Just two months before he passed away on December 13, 2001, Nick climbed a 50-foot ladder to assist in garnering donations for a fundraiser.Although Ventura County has never lost a firefighter during an emergency response incident, most of those honored died from job related illnesses. Marshall Jacobe, a Ventura County firefighter, died in 1970 on his way home from his shift when he stopped to help a stranded motorist. Jacobe was struck by a car and died on the morning of his 31st birthday. Also honored were firefighters Wayne Pulley, Terrill Tyner and James Rangel.“No greater love” can be equaled by those “willing to lay down their life for others,” Oxnard City Fire Chaplain Dan Green noted during the invocation.
